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Writer's picture52Steps

Step 42 = Chicken Pad Thai.


- Serves 2 - Ready in 30 minutes -

Gather together…

250g raw chicken, thinly sliced into bite-size pieces, with scissors.

1 tbsp cornflour.

1 tbsp soy sauce (reduced salt variety).

150g dried wholemeal noodles (uncooked).

2 tablespoons rapeseed oil or olive oil.

4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely, or 1 tbsp lazy garlic.

1 bunch spring onions, sliced into 1cm tubes.

1 cup (250g) carrot finely sliced into ribbons with a potato peeler - use 2 medium carrots as, although heavier than needed, you can't ribbon the whole carrots, a central core will remain, and you can eat it as a snack.

3 medium eggs, lightly beaten.

1 tablespoon cornflour + 1 tablespoon cold water (made into a 'slurry').

1/3 cup (125g when weighed on scales) peanuts, chopped / crushed in a pestle and mortar.

Handful of fresh Coriander, chopped (I grow / buy herbs in bulk and then chop and freeze them, so they are ready to use quickly in recipes).

For the sauce...

1 tbsp white wine vinegar.

1 tbsp cold water.

1 tbsp soy sauce (reduced salt variety).

Juice of 1 lime (then quarter the remains and serve the quarters with the finished dish).

½ a stock cube or 1tsp 'Marigold Less Salt Swiss Vegetable Bouillon powder' (available in bulk 1kg tubs).

⅓ cup (80ml) boiling water.

½ teaspoon chilli flakes.

⅓ cup (80g) brown sugar (any type).

1 tbsp rapeseed oil or olive oil.

Get cooking…

1. Get EVERY ingredient out and ON the worktop - this recipe combines the ingredients quickly and requires your full attention.

2. Boil a full kettle of water (for the noodles and later for the stock).

3. Prepare every fiddly ingredient - cut up the 250g of chicken, peel and chop the 4 garlic cloves (if using), slice the bunch of spring onions into 1 cm pieces, slice the two carrots with a peeler, beat the three eggs in a bowl, make the 1 tbsp cornflour + 1 tbsp water 'slurry' in a cup, crush the 125g of peanuts, chop the lime into quarters, chop the handful of Coriander.

4. Now marinade the chicken pieces in a medium bowl, with the 1 tbsp cornflour and 1 tbsp soy sauce, stir to coat and set aside.

5. Meanwhile, bring a pan of boiling water to a simmer on the hob, add the 150g of dried noodles and cook them for 5 minutes.

6. Next make the sauce - in a large bowl, combine the 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp of cold water, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, the juice from 1 lime, sieve in the 1 tsp of stock powder (sieving avoids lumps), add 80ml of boiling water, plus the 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes, the 1/3 cup of brown sugar, and the tablespoon of oil. Whisk until the brown sugar dissolves completely. Set the bowl of sauce aside.

7. Drain the noodles and immediately rinse with cold water, to prevent them sticking together. Set aside, sitting in cold water, for now.

8. Heat a large wok / pan over low/medium heat. Add in 1 tablespoon of oil and then the 1 tbsp of lazy garlic (or use 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped finely).

9. Add the chicken to the wok / pan and allow it to cook through gently (stirring often) until it turns from pink to white-with-brown-patches and is piping-hot inside when you cut open a fat piece to check, this will take circa 5 to 10 minutes.

10. Remove the chicken to a plate.

11. To the wok, add the chopped bunch of spring onions along with the carrot ribbons and let them sauté (fry quickly) for 30 seconds before adding in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Stir well and then gently add the three beaten eggs.

12. Scramble the eggs in the wok until they cook, this will take about 1 minute of heat and continuous careful stirring (don't splash the egg up the sides or it burns), then re-add the chicken. Stir.

13. Drain and add the (previously cooked) noodles to the wok. Separate the noodles with your fingers, before adding, if they are stuck together in clumps. Stir.

14. Now add the sauce that you made earlier to the wok.

15. Next pour the ‘slurry’ (1 tbsp of cornflour and 1 tbsp of water) into the wok, toss the pad thai using wooden spoons so that everything mixes together. Allow to bubble on the hob and then let sauce thicken for 1-2 minutes, stirring.

16. Serve immediately topped with the 125g of chopped peanuts, the handful of chopped Coriander, and the (earlier-squeezed) lime wedges.

Adapted from www.littlespicejar.com.

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